Moving HDDs between TiVos?

[Mordred]

I've got an AT&T S2 in my bedroom with two HDDs in it. It's old and runs pretty hot. I've got a newer S2 with nothing on it I'm interested in keeping. Due to transfering lifetime and various pre-payment the newer S2 has a longer subscription than the old S2. What I'd like to do is transfer the shows/season passes from the old S2 onto a new PATA HDD (which I already have) and then put that new drive in the new S2.

My question is will that even work? Are the HDDs tied to the specific TiVo and if so, are there ways around that?

[rcobourn]

No can do. The best you can do is to transfer the recordings over your network. You'll have to move season passes the old fashioned way.

[jerobi]

rcobourn is right. I recently used a backup from TiVo A to load on TiVo B. It won't even let you record shows. You will get an Error #51 and be forced to reset the unit back to factory settings. The OS knows when a drive has been placed a different unit.

I understand why TiVo does it from a piracy angle, not that it made it any easier on me.